Canadian Pacific yard expansion plan would fill six acres of wetlands

Canadian Pacific Railway has proposed a major expansion of its receiving yard to the north and east of Pig's Eye Lake in St. Paul, with the ultimate goal of accommodating 10,000-foot trains by mid-2015.

The project, which is sure to raise eyebrows with neighbors and naturalists, would fill in 6 acres of wetlands along the northern and eastern shoreland areas of the lake.

"We'd like to do it this year. We'd like to start construction as soon as we get our permits," said Tim Havlicek, a project engineer with Canadian Pacific.

City council president Kathy Lantry, who represents the area, said she was withholding public statements during the comment process, but she predicted strong public reaction.

"They're putting up 20-foot sheeting piling walls and removing 6 acres of wetlands," she said. "I would guess that people are going to comment on it, indeed."

Council member Dave Thune said he was unfamiliar with the plans, but he also predicted heavy feedback.

"I think there's going to be concerns about the environment," he said. "It's a huge nesting area, especially right now."

Lantry said Canadian Pacific began work twice on the project in the last year or so before being asked to stop and get the appropriate public permits. Some officials have also expressed concern about impacts to the city's Great River Passage riverfront master plan, which calls for restored bird habitat and water cleanup at the lake.

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Pig's Eye Island is home to a state bird sanctuary popular with herons and pelicans.

Residents have until April 30 to comment to the city on the project's 30-page environmental assessment worksheet (EAW), which was published Monday by the state's Environmental Quality Board, as well as accompanying diagrams, reports and a noise study. The city of St. Paul will oversee the EAW process.

An open house on the plans is scheduled for 6 p.m. April 23 at the Battle Creek Recreation Center at 75 S. Winthrop St., and consultants and representatives of Canadian Pacific are expected to attend.

Canadian Pacific hopes to add a sixth track and a new access road to the existing Dunn receiving yard. Extensions would lengthen all of the tracks and the access road by roughly 3,000 feet. The extensions will occur to the south, along the existing mainline tracks, roughly parallel to and just west of U.S. 61, according to the city.

The Dunn yard can currently accommodate 7,000-foot trains at best. According to the project description in the EAW report, the industry standard has moved toward 10,000-foot trains, and when trains of that length enter the yard, the portion of the train that is longer than 7,000 feet blocks the mainline track.

The trains must be split into sections and then channeled onto a variety of tracks, where they are recombined into new trains for departure.

"The splitting and recombination of trains results in congestion and delays on the mainline, noise ... as the cars are reconfigured, and more use of locomotives and fossil fuels," according to the EAW.

To complete its project, Canadian Pacific will need to apply for a conditional use permit for impacts to wetlands and to have a portion of the property rezoned.

Copies of the EAW are available at the St. Paul Central Library, as well as the Dayton's Bluff and Sun Ray library branches. The EAW is also available online at www.stpaul.gov/cpraileaw.

Comments on the EAW can be posted online at the Open Saint Paul discussion site, www.stpaul.gov/open, or emailed to josh.williams@ci.stpaul.mn.us, or mailed to Josh Williams, City of St. Paul -- PED, 25 W. Fourth St., Suite 1300, St. Paul, MN 55102. Williams can be reached at 651-266-6659.